49ers QB Nate Davis ditches gloves, gets grip on playbook

In his attempt to grab more playing time, Nate Davis is going barehanded.

The 49ers quarterback operated without gloves last week for the first time in recent memory. Davis wore them on both hands while at Ball State. He wore them at the Scouting Combine. He wore them for his entire his rookie season.

Now, Davis has cast them aside. Why?

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You’ll be sorry you asked …

“Centers they sweat a lot, so sometimes the gloves would get wet and it’s hard to hold onto the ball,’’ Davis explained Thursday.

Coach Mike Singletary said he doesn’t care whether the quarterback wears a glove or not, just as long as shows a better grip of the 49ers offense. The 49ers plan to give him an expanded opportunity Sunday night against the Vikings at Candlestick Park.

Fresh off Davis’ solid performance against third-stringers in the Colts in the preseason opener – 5 for 6, 84 yards – Davis is in line to get some time with the second-team offense against the Vikings.

Singletary continues to call Davis “a work in progress.” The next step in the quarterback’s evolution will be facing more experienced NFL defenses.

“He has to learn where the fire is coming from. That’s the point that he has to get to,’’ Singletary said. “He has to be able to do that on the move. So we’ll see how it works.”

Davis was the first Ball State quarterback to resister back-to-back 3,000-yard passing seasons. His 74 career touchdown passes ranked fifth in MAC history (Chad Pennington and Ben Roethlisberger are among those higher on the list.)

He looks entrenched as the third-stringer for the 49ers, behind Alex Smith and David Carr. But now, the gloves are off.

“I’m just out there doing what I can do and trying to be the best player I can be. If it falls into place that I’m no. 2, then it does,’’ Davis said. “(Carr) has a lot of experience and that helps. I’ve just got to get the playbook more down pat and maybe I can take a step forward.”

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Quick hits

– 49ers cornerback Karl Paymah, who spent last season in Minnesota, has an inside perspective on the latest media circus surrounding the Vikings. Brett Favre is back – again – and Paymah is happy to be thousands of miles away.

“It was like a reality show,’’ Paymah said. “You had helicopters flying around. You had TV, media, SportsCenter. You really feel like he’s living within a tube. It’s kind of good to be back to normal, to reality.

“He’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. So it was good for a lifelong memory. But I’m glad I got that over with.”

Paymah, entering his sixth season, is trying to work his way up the 49ers depth chart. He’s listed as the backup right cornerback behind Nate Clements.

– Receiver Michael Crabtree (sprained neck) and tight end Vernon Davis (knee) did not practice and Singletary said he was unsure whether either would play against the Vikings. There is no timetable for their return.

“This is preseason. We’re not going to rush them back,’’ Singletary said.

– A drill during Thursday’s practice featured linebackers covering running backs in pass coverage. Singletary was extremely hands-on during the session, incessantly yelling at players to use proper technique.

Singletary was hardest on the inexperienced players, including third-round pick NaVorro Bowman. The rookie from Penn State was among the players who whose eyes spent too much time on the quarterback instead of the runner. “It’s one of those things that can get you killed,” Singeltary said. “Some of these young guys we’ll have to depend on this year. We don’t have a lot of time.”

– During that one-on-one session two of the 49ers biggest stars – linebacker Patrick Willis and running back Frank Gore – shouted at each other in a fierce competition. When it was over, and order was restored, the two shook hands. Singletary said he loved seeing such spirited competition between his two stars. “Yes, I do,’’ he said, “because iron sharpens iron.”

Daniel Brown

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It’s as simple as this IMHO… as Gary Radnich is constantly referenced to this… Does Nate Davis look like something… Yes! Alex Smith, David Carr?? Nay! I do understand that most of you will throw out the “he’s playing against guys that will be cut in a few days” argument and well, I can’t Argue with you… Nate just passes the eye test

BillWalsh

It’s indescribable, the moment Nate steps on the field he looks as if he’s been playing for the past 5 years (he even looked this way during his rookie year). He plays instinctual street football, knows all the right pump-fake procedures, can manipulate a bootleg like no other, and his QB POSTURE/MECHANICS ARE STOUT after each snap. It’s very Romo-esq, he has that natural spring/downhill vision Alex Smith will never have.

Edouble

The sad part is that Nate Davis is probably the best qb on the roster but never gets a fair chance because of the so call rookie tag! He has instincts and more importantly the offence moves down the field regularly! This shit about him playing against 2nd and 3rd stringers is garbage! I saw Alex Smith play against 2nd stringers in the preseason last year and he still struggle to move the offence! Smith is just flat out inconsistant! Not quite sure why singletary won’t give this kid more opportunities! It’s as if he is scared for Davis to succeed! Niner fans know what top qb play looks like! Sorry Sing! U played in Chicago where they haven’t seen what a quality qb should look like since 85! Damn wish Bill Walsh was still here to evaluate! He would prob. have Davis starting by now!

Dufus Wainwright

Well if Bill Walsh likes him, I like him!

But really, I do like him. I want to believe in Alex Smith, but it’s like believing in bible stories. There’s just no evidence.

I’m more interested in Frank Gore & Patrick Willis going at it in practice. They both are already all-time great 49ers and they haven’t even won anything yet. I’d love to see the practice film!

http://www.10thgreen.com Rwise44

I would agree that Nate has the “it factor. To be able to get the ball downfield so quick, regardless of the distance of the pass, along with the fact he has better touch than Alex, seems to have better instincts and is a better passer when rolling out, after seeing alex miss yet another touch screen pass, throw behind players as normal, and very inconstant, I believe this is the year Nate gets his opportunity. I would rather see coach Singletary give Alex every chance but his chances are starting to run out. I also think Nate is a class act for his attitude and responses to the Media. My thoughts are that we will have all of the pieces to go the distance with Nate. I honestly don’t get that feel fro Alex at all.

MARK

nate davis is a pipe dream….hes done it vs guys who will be working at the grocery–the only eyeball test he passes is that he doesnt look like alex smith…alex is the best qb on 49ers roster, delusions of the haters notwithstanding

RonO

Most popular guy in town is ALWAYS the 3rd string QB. ALWAYS.

Colt Brennan was the star in DC, sold more jerseys than all the other QB’s combined. Unfortunately the coaches weren’t quite so in love and he’s now a Raider.

The only thing coaches want to do is win. If they don’t win they lose their jobs. Sing is no different. If Sing thought Davis was the best QB in the roster he’d be starting.

Davis might become a good NFL QB, but none of us have seen anything like enough of him to know that. He only threw 6 passes last week and some folks have in the HOF already. Jeesh. I wonder if they saw how good those same Colt 2nd & 3rd string defenders made the Bills look. The Bills for goodness sake, one of the worst franchises in the league.

Please excuse me for posting this here but Kawakami deletes all the comments I send to his blog. Apparently he can’t handle criticism as well as he claims.

To Coach Sing:

It’s not possible to sharpen iron with iron.

The most common analogy used to explain the Bible verse is that an iron file can be used to sharpen an iron blade. Can’t be done. Iron blades are (and always have been) sharpened with a stone. Sharpener has to be a whole lot harder than the thing being sharpened.

In general like things cannot sharpen themselves. Wood cannot sharpen wood for example. Something a whole lot harder is needed. So men cannot sharpen men. Only God can.

What?????

RonO…No wonder Kawakami deletes your comments…
Smith has it, just like DeBerg had it…Time to move on from the Alex experiment and put Davis in…try it, you’ll like it
As if I know what I am talking about…(well, in RonO’s case, I do )